Detroit child's death stemmed from revenge shooting: prosecutors

DETROIT (Reuters) - Prosecutors told a court on Thursday that a Detroit man fired several AK-47 rounds into the bedroom window of an 8-year-old boy, killing him, in retaliation against the child’s mother, the man’s former girlfriend who had implicated him in a burglary.

Calvin Mosby, 28, of Detroit, faces life in prison for shooting dead Jakari Pearson in the early hours of July 30. At the pretrial hearing in a Detroit city court on Thursday, he was bound over on charges of first-degree murder, two counts of assault with intent to murder and weapons charges.

A second man, 17-year-old Devaunte Starks, was bound over as Mosby’s accomplice. He is charged with home invasion, accessory to murder and carrying a concealed weapon, which could bring at least 15 years in prison if convicted.

The boy’s mother, Samona Cochran, testified that she told police Mosby, a tattoo artist, may have been behind a burglary. He later threatened to kill her after he had learned he became a suspect in the burglary.

Throughout the hearing, Mosby was mostly expressionless and occasionally spoke to his court-appointed attorney. The judge admonished Starks for smiling and laughing at the hearing that was examining evidence in the child’s death.

Attorneys for the two men disputed some of the witness statements during the hearing.